Chapter 221: The first hammer, finally done! Several people came to the place where they were placed, and they could clearly see that the molten iron had completely solidified, and they could also feel the heat radiating away.

Although it has solidified, it has not cooled completely.

The foreman took a wooden hammer and handed it to Wang Kang and said: "Master Kang, you can knock the first hammer!"

What he meant was to break the mold. The earthen mold carried the molten iron. Although it could withstand high temperatures, it would crack in some places and it would not fall off perfectly.

Therefore, this earth mold can only be used once, and it can only be broken into pieces and the steel can be taken out.

Therefore, the first hammer was of great significance, and the craftsman asked Wang Kang to complete it.

"It's up to you to do it. I was watching from the beginning to the end, but I didn't do anything." Wang Kang said with a smile.

"But this..." The foreman was excited after hearing this. He really didn't expect that Wang Kang could say this.

"That's it. Select a brother from among the craftsmen to be the representative, and he will sound the first hammer!" Wang Kang said with a smile.

"Okay!" The foreman was even more grateful, and other craftsmen looked at Wang Kang differently.

One person was quickly selected, the craftsman who was responsible for mixing the ingredients previously. Because the work was done very close to the furnace and required high temperatures, it was very laborious.

This craftsman is shirtless, has a generous figure, and looks excited while holding a wooden hammer. This is a great honor!

He looked at Wang Kang and said: "Master Kang, here I come!"

"bring it on!"

"Snapped!"

The craftsman directly hit the earthen mold, and the earthen mold shattered with a sound, and the clods of earth fell down wherever he hit it. Then the craftsman passed the wooden hammer to the next person.

Then, soon all the earthen molds were broken into pieces, revealing the steel inside.

The whole body is dark and has a strong metallic texture. The whole body is slender and looks no different from ordinary iron.

There are also irregular bulges, which are of course incomparable to the steel bars of previous generations.

However, this crude method can only go so far.

The other craftsmen dispersed, and Master Xi stepped forward and said calmly: "Master Kang, I want to test it!"

"Test it!" Wang Kang said with a smile, looking confident.

"Some people come and help me!" Master Xi shouted, and then several craftsmen came with tongs to clamp the steel and move it to a cast iron platform nearby.

Master Xi is a master of iron casting and an experienced craftsman. He has rich experience and can identify it by knocking, feeling and hearing the sound.

After setting up the steel, Master Xi picked up the hammer and hit one end hard several times.

"Ding, ding"

Crisp sounds sounded one after another.

"This sound?" wáng fǔ chén had a look of astonishment on his face. He was also an old craftsman. His long period of forging cast iron allowed them to master the most basic method of identifying sounds by tapping!

From many years of experience, we can conclude that if the sound is dull when struck, it is ordinary iron. The crisper the sound, the better the material performance.

Could it be that a better one has really been made? wáng fǔ chén thought in surprise.

The tapping continued, and Master Xi's face became more and more solemn. After a while, he stopped.

"Lao Xi, how are you?" Li Zheng asked hurriedly.

Master Xi raised his head, with a surprised expression on his face, and said strangely: "If what I expected is correct, this hardness is comparable to the 30-year-old forged iron from our Smelting Bureau, and it is much stronger than that!"

"What?" Hearing this, Li Zheng's face was full of surprise.

When the Smelting Bureau forges iron, it will repeatedly use a hammer to fire and strike for forging. In this process, it goes through thirty times to obtain high-hardness forged iron.

Therefore they named it Thirty Wrought Iron, which is already the hardest wrought iron they have found so far.

And this can be achieved through direct refining, which is simply unbelievable and beyond human understanding!

"I'll test it!" Wang Fucheng raised his sleeves and went straight into battle.

He picked up the hammer and started to hit it. This is also a method of identification. Hitting to see the toughness.

The one with high hardness and poor toughness is pig iron, while the one with good toughness is steel.

Soon wáng fǔ chén also stopped and turned to Wang Kang, staring with disbelief in his eyes.

"How is it?" Li Zheng asked.

"If... I feel right, this is indeed better than the thirty forged iron from our Smelting Bureau, and... much better!"

wáng fǔ chén said with difficulty: "This is true both in terms of hardness and toughness!"

"If it is forged again, it may be even better than it is now!"

Everyone was shocked, and the two experienced craftsmen were sure that it was definitely right!

"This is really..." Li Zheng sighed for a long time.

The only thing he feels now is a sense of absurdity and unreality, and Wang Kang really made it.

And it has not been forged, it just comes out of the furnace.

This is simply unbelievable and completely breaks their understanding. For many years, they never thought it could be like this.

It would be fine if the person who achieved this step was an old craftsman, but it was a rich young man who was only eighteen years old?

this……

If you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes, you really wouldn’t believe it!

Seeing the silence of several people, Wang Kang was very indifferent, because this was the result he had expected, and the steel he refined could not be compared with the material in his previous life.

He also knew that it would be better if it was forged again, but that would increase labor hours, and the current level is completely sufficient!

"Oh, it worked!"

"Master Kang is mighty!"

At this time, the craftsmen who had been surrounding them shouted excitedly when they heard the conversation.

This is the result of their hard work. Although it is very tiring, the sense of accomplishment at this moment is hard to suppress!

People looked at Wang Kang with burning eyes. During the operation, they also knew that this was all guided by Master Kang, from the very beginning of building the furnace to every step of refining...

The same goes for the ratio of raw materials, etc.

Some of these craftsmen were recruited from Xinfeng County, some were hired by Wang Dingchang from Yangzhou City, and some came from the Smelting Bureau with Li Zheng and others.

At this moment, everyone is very excited!

Because they witnessed the birth of a miracle with their own eyes!

This in itself is a miracle!

"The refining of the first furnace has been successful. Now you can follow these steps and get started!" Wang Kang said in a deep voice.

"yes!"

"Start work, start work!"

All the craftsmen shouted and were very motivated!

"Master Kang, we have completely lost!" Li Zheng sighed.

"According to the bet, we will stay here until the work on your side is completed." wáng fǔ chén said.

In fact, they had thought before that they would stay here to help Wang Kang no matter whether they won or lost, but there was still a difference between being active and being passive.

"Haha, that's serious!"

Wang Kang smiled and said: "There is no winner or lose in this bet. In the construction of the furnace, you all also worked hard. Without you, there would not be such rapid progress!"

Then he said: "But I will also donate a sum of money to the Smelting Bureau in the name of the Earl's Palace, but it is not money, but iron ore worth one hundred thousand gold coins, how about it?"
Chapter completed!